Food that looks prettier than it tastes. That would, unfortunately, sum up my experience at Einstein's Relative. I really wanted to like this place, after reading everything that people were writing about it, but found it average at best. Perhaps it was the dishes we ordered, or perhaps it just is bland. Either way, I'm not convinced I'll return to try anything other than the coffee, which really did smell good. I popped in for a casual lunch date with my girl pal Eve on a lazy Saturday afternoon, and found a seat by the countertop.

We ordered two mains to share. Firstly, we had the Vietnamese Banh Mi sandwich (AUD$15.50), which had heaps of pulled pork and chilli slaw generously squashed between a fluffy bun.Things got messy, real quick, because the pulled pork came with a drippy sauce that soaked through the bun. The flavours of the Vietnamese chilli slaw was lost in this dish, and it tasted just like any other pulled pork sandwich, to be honest. No-frills; just straight up, simple food -- it was good enough, but there was nothing to shout about. This was the better main of the two, since the chicken salad that followed fell completely flat.

Surely, something that looks this Instagram-worthy has got to taste good, right? Wrong. Even with a generous squeeze of lime juice, the Relative Chicken Salad (AUD$16.50) had no flavour to speak of, which left us feeling fairly disappointed. It was one-dimensional and bland, and we tried to salvage it by adding some hot sauce. Sadly, the slice of bread that came with it was cold, lifeless and stiff - it would have been nice if they warmed it up prior to serving it, but on the whole, this just did not cut it for us.

What they did well, though, was conceptualising and designing the fit out for such a small space. Cute, hanging lightbulbs and medicinal-looking plants in glass beakers lent a creative flair to the café, while cookbooks left on the counter were a thoughtful touch for the patrons' perusal. I wish I could share a better experience, but oh well - it is what it is!